I had seen photos of this place weeks ago. This was high on my list of cultural | Lifestyle visits in Bali. After a couple of weeks I finally had the chance to go there and I am very happy I did!

Ujung Water Palace is a beautiful park with big fishponds and surrounds the old Karangasem Empire heritage building, which was used by the Karangasem’s King for a day relaxation or meeting place in their era.

Nice little pad they had here just to hang out for a day to relax or have meetings. Its architecture is beautiful and the surrounding waters and gardens make this place stunning and unique.

It’s very tranquil to wander through these gardens and take in your life. Your now – your moment. I felt very connected ad grounded in this palace. It inspired me to meditate for a while in the open space by the water.

Before that though, I found steps and this great little spot for me to perform an intuitive workout. I had not planned to workout at all that day, but once I saw this beautiful spot and the steps I just took off my shirt and did.

I mixed things up as this was a non-structured workout (which is great to do). I threw in 3 sets of step sprints, some step jumping, step-ups, push-us and handstands. All in all 30 minutes of workout fun in incredible surroundings, completed a wonderful day!

The Message:

Workout intuitively and get outside as much as you can. Exercising outdoors, in forests, beaches, places, temples, hills and so on, you name it. This type of thing ads so much versatility, fun and enjoyment to your workout and your day. It is so called “Forest Therapy” and the benefits are that you become far more grounded and happy.

The endorphin hormone is released in situations like this and this is what happens biochemically in our body:

The secretion of endorphins leads to feelings of euphoria, modulation of appetite, release of sex hormones, and enhancement of the immune response. With high endorphin levels, we feel less pain and fewer negative effects of stress.

Please make an effort to get outside to workout, run or just walk and take things in no matter if rain or shine, cold or warm. It’s worth it every time. We must make a conscious effort to move more frequently and go outside.